MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Prior to Super Bowl VI, a reporter excitedly asked Dallas Cowboys star running back Duane Thomas, how he felt about playing in the “ultimate game.” Thomas, who had been boycotting the media, looked at the reporter and cooly said, “If it’s the ultimate game, how come they’re playing it again next year?”
I thought about Thomas’s poignant response Thursday after watching Marcus Freman’s emotional reaction his Notre Dame team pulled out a dramatic 27-24 victory over Penn State. With the victory Notre Dame earned a berth in the national championship game on Jan. 20.
Heading into Thursday’s final game, Freeman and Penn State head coach James Franklin were asked about making history as the first Black head coaches to face each other in a national semifinal game. Now, Freeman will be the first to lead his team into a FBS national championship game. If he wins that, Freeman will become the first coach of African American and Asian descent (his mother is Korean) to win a national championship.
The ultimate games keep on coming.
The reality is that ever since Sept. 7, 2024, when Notre Dame suffered a devastating 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois, Freeman and the Irish — with their backs against the wall — have been playing one ultimate game after another. After that home loss, the sky seemed to be falling in South Bend. And there were questions: Was Freeman the right man for the job? Had the Irish obliterated their chances of being invited to the tournament?
With the calm and steadiness that have been the hallmarks of his three-year tenure as the Notre Dame head coach, Freeman responded by leading Notre Dame to 13 consecutive wins, including Thursday’s victory over Penn State.
Asked how he weathered the storm after the loss to Northern Illinois, Freeman said he used to loss to inspire and motivate his team.
“I often tell them, in your lowest moments, you find out the most about yourself, and we’ve had low moments, but we had a really low moment in Week 2 and these guys battled,” he said. “We’ve got great leaders. But that’s what it takes. It takes 120 guys saying, ‘No one cares how many plays I get. Who cares what type of individual praise I get?’ We have a locker room of guys made up of that. And that, to me, is a reflection of what you saw today, the guys did whatever it took to find a way to make sure we achieve the outcome we want.”
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During semifinal week, ethnicity became the topic of the day, the question to ask. Freeman’s father is African American, his mother is Korean. He has responded to question about being first by acknowledging both sides of his family tree.
If we learned anything about ethnic and racial identity during Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, it’s that you can’t win. Critics will accuse you of “turning Black” if you embrace being African American, or you’ll be accused of turning your back on being Black if you don’t.
Freeman’s strategy has been to win football games and let the winning speak for itself, one ultimate win after another.
On Jan. 20, Freeman and Notre Dame will play another ultimate game against the winner of Friday’s Ohio State-Texas semifinal contest. After Thursday’s game, Freeman said he planned to celebrate the opportunity to have a day off and have a chance to breathe.
“We don’t know who we’re going to play, and so let’s enjoy the night,” Freeman said. “Let’s enjoy tomorrow. Hopefully, we can watch the game or try to as a fan [would]. But you know, the minute that we find out who wins that game, you go into competition mode, you’re starting to prepare coaches and players. The mental strain that it has on you preparing for an opponent, is tough. And I hope these guys — for one day — can enjoy this moment, enjoy not having an opponent.”
Freeman’s clearly is ascending. Since taking over the program in 2021, he has compiled a 34-9 record. Now he has catapulted Notre Dame into the National Championship game for the first time since 2013.
For Penn State’s Franklin, Thursday’s loss ended a remarkable season but re-ignited the ‘Can’t Win the Big One’ criticism he’s felt for most of his 11-year tenure at Penn State. At 52, Franklin is hardly at the end of the line, but this season was the best chance he has had to change the narrative that has haunted him.
No sooner had the game ended that the criticism emerged with reminders of Franklin’s record against top teams. He is 1-14 at Penn State against Associated Press top-5 teams. His lone win came in 2016 against No. 2 Ohio State. Franklin is 4-19 against opponents ranked in the AP top 10. He is 0-5 against teams ranked in the top five by the College Football Playoff selection committee, and his teams have lost those games by an average of 20.4 points.
The stat that matters most is that Penn State pays Franklin $10 million annually to be its head football coach.
Still, losing hurts. After Thursday’s loss, Franklin said that what stung about getting so close to the national championship game was that his team would be deprived of experiencing a championship moment.
“I wanted it for the guys, wanted it for our players. I wanted it for the staff,” he said. “As you can imagine, there’s 1,000 different emotions going on and feelings, but as the head coach, I got to put on the right face for the guys in the locker room for what they need right now, and for my family. The sun will come up tomorrow, and the one thing I want to make sure that all those guys do is walk out of that locker room with their heads high and their chest out, because they have a ton to be proud of.
“There’s about 128 teams that would give the right arm to have the season that we just had tonight, that we just had this year. So, it doesn’t feel that way right now, but there’s a ton to be proud of.”
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The distinction of being the first to play for the national championship will go to Freeman, though ultimately, Thursday’s Notre Dame victory was not a Black Victory or a People of Color victory. Heartbreak and joy have no color.
This was a hard-fought battle between two elite teams enjoying great season, two storied programs and two highly accomplished coaches.
“Penn State was a heck of a football team,” Freeman said. “I had a lot of respect for them coming into the game but having more after the game. It’s a really good team, well coached, and it was a tough matchup. But these guys are resilient, and they found a way to make a play when it matters the most.”
Freeman celebrated his 39th birthday on Friday. When asked about the significance of the day, Freeman said his daughter was born on the same day, “so for the past 13 years she got all the birthday credit.”
Ever single-minded and practical, Freeman said he wanted to focus not on celebrating a birthday but on celebrating a hard-fought game against Franklin’s Penn State team.
“This is a special moment that a lot of hard work has been put into,” he said. “It’s not about a birthday, man. This is just about a moment and enjoying the moment.”
Until next week, when Freeman and Notre Dame will have to face yet another challenge and another ultimate game.